People makin stuff up about Hanioti about floods and more fires and stuff, no one will be put off from goin there so u all might aswell give up stirrin and get a life!

Lisa x

OMG i have jus done this post, why did u copy it?

Lisa people aren't really making stuff up,it's worried holiday makers that are wondering whether or not they've wasted their money by booking to go there!Not exactly lies......there HAVE been very bad fires & there HAS been heavy rain,yes it's all clear now but people who haven't visited the area before & don't know any reliable sources of information over there can only go by the information that's been on the news & in the papers which gets exaggerated to sell! I love Halkidiki & would still visit the place whatever was going on over there,nothing would stop me but first time visitors are understandably going to be worried!

trust me the fires were worse than people are saying
and you wont know anything if you didnt go through the experience
so find out the facts first

well i live in hanioti so obviously i do know, so get YOUR facts right before u start goin off at me!!!!

in a bit!!

Annoyed person.... I am with you on this.
As a holiday maker there at the time.... there is nothing more horrifying that having to actually run for your LIFE! I was there and yes I understand that the people of Halkidiki have done a sterling job of clearing up but for us Brits who have never really experienced a forest fire like this is was absolutely terrifying. My only resolve was that we thankfully don't have children. Holidaymakers have a right to know the facts, which from what I can see on this forum IS what is being posted. People spend most of the year saving for their two weeks holiday and the last thing people want is to get there and have a miserable time. This is an open forum where people can post and read other posts. How about people make their own minds up. The british media have really played it down to be honest. Since returning home and I've shown people my photographs and video footage they are suprised at how bad it really was.

If you were a holiday maker travelling somewhere that has experience a large fire and flooding, wouldn't you want to know whether you and your family were going to be safe?

Hey Jokent

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience but if you have proof of how bad the damage by pictures and video post it on the web using this forum? Like so many people in Halkidiki have done?

Thanks

Macintosh

Lisa no need to be so defensive,ok you live there,i've lived there too & i have friends that own businesses over there now so i'm well informed about what's gone on there!If you're sick of people telling "lies" then why not be constructive & post your personal experience on here instead of just having a go at people,there are plenty of people who post on this forum who live over there & have posted about how bad it was,surely you're not accusing them of telling lies too!!!!Why would they?No tourists = no money & none of them want that.

Lisa,

descending into personal insults does not add value to what is a valid point.

Kerry,Annoyed Person & Jokent I was there that night as well and had a wife ,2 children aged 5 & 8 plus to elderly parents with me. At no time did I feel that my life or other peoples lives were in danger from the fire. My fathers because his previous heart attack yes and my mothers because of breathing problem yes. My childrens because of the herd like stampede yes but from the fire ..no.

I can understand it if you were in a hotel in the hills behind hanioti but not if you were in Hanioti itself. To me the hysteria that surrounded that night came mostly from the Russians and Czechs( who were buring their luggage and passports on the beach???) . Most of the Brits that I came across seemed pretty calm.

I do not think the press have played it down in fact I feel they have been totally inaccurate . Looking at the press cuttings comments such as fire swept through Hanioti and surrounding areas totally misrepresents what has happened. In fact the scale of the misrepresentation is akin to the events of July 7 ( I was there too before anyone asks) having been described as blowing up the London Underground.
Chris

PS my pictures have been posted

Right Then,

I was in Hanioti when the fires ocurred on the on the Monday evening and to make matters worse I ahd only been in resort for 5 hours.

I was staying in the Vicky and i evacuated when the supermarket went up in flames now as the crow flies that was no more than a maximum of 50 yards away and I have to be honest I have never seen anything like it I was scared because the way the wind was blowing it the fire was following me towards the beach and with 2 children my concern was to get them to safety. Obviously alot of people had never been involved in anything like this before me, me included but people were scared and to a degree alot were panicing which is understandable but once we had got to the beach when I felt I was safe I could see flames near the Beach Bar I was concerned so I decided to walk to walk further up the beach. This was I became alarmed, I agree with with Chris I saw people burning there belongings which I could not understand why but what really got me wound up was the fact that the Greeks had dumped their 4+4's or bmw's on the beach and were stood outside their vehicles having a cigarette. Talk about having priorities?

On the Tuesday after the power came on I was fortunate to watch the news on both Greek TV as well as BBCNews 24 and SKY and I must say the news shown in Britain was certainly not over the top., compared to greek news, there is no comparison Greek news was on the hour every hour for 2 days and gave a good overview of what had happened in relation to the fires.

From someone who has been either to Polichrono or Hanioti for the the last 15 years the fires were a disaster and you have to feel for the people whos's livelihoods which have been effected by the fire but unless you were involved in the fires you can not understand the feelings of the people effected. My lasting impression of the fire was feeling the cinders of the fire burning my legs and my daughter saying I'm to young to die.

ahhhhhhhhhh
i see those naughty Russian/czechs/slovaks/lats
are at it over in greece now
same as in my home town
one lands here next thing you know his brother sister aunt uncle gran and grandad arrive
i know these countries are in a mess but do they need to poach from us

they probly burnt their things hoping Greece will let them stay

there was a bad accident near where i live a car smashed into a house doing a lot of damage out of that house came 14 yes 14 Latvians
the driver of the car was ........... yep a Latvian 3 times over the drink/drive limit
NO TAX NO INSURANCE and the car was a 7 series BMW...

RANT OVER

not wanting to be offencesive just telling it as is.......

Nigel,

Funny how a couple of weeks go by and how the memory fades...or is it I'm getting old. I remember now about how you couldnt move as quickly as you wanted because of all the cars trying to get to the beach. The one caveat I add before condemning is that a lot of people drive to Greece from mainland europe. if it is your only mode of transport back I may have done the same.

The Serbian couple who were staying next door to us at the Olympic Kosmas were due to be leaving the following morning and had all there belongings in the car. When the fire came he drove it down to the Beach bar area only for it to get burnt out. Had he left it where it was it would have been safe.

Now when there is smell of burning wood ( I live in a rural village) my first thought is about that night. I hope your daughter is well.

Chris

I was in Hanioti that night and at one time was ready to call my parents to say goodbye. If you had seen me I was calm and looking unconcerned with my wife and daughter alongside me. Doesn't mean I wasn't scared though!

Maybe we overeacted but had the wind not changed then it could have been far worse.

Graham

Graham, I was also in the Angelo and I thought about saying goodbye. I think because we weren't in the town we saw more of the fire coming towards us and made it more the frightening.

jokent,

i hear from Gary (dj) that the fire damaged the roof of the restaurant at the angelo a bit, how bad is it? i used to live there and i am going back next week. nothing would put me off going. it is like my secind home

sorry to hear about everyones bad experiances in hanioti. i'm so glad that everyone is now ok.
we had ahouse in the forest before the fire. the house is stil there but the forest is gone, with everything we own.
play up pompey.

Nicola,

It was sorted straight away... there was just so much ash and dust all over the hotel and in the pool etc. We were evacuated the day after so not sure what it is like now..... Have a good time though x

Isnt it time to change the subject.
Yes the fires were bad and it was scary and it may have spoiled some holidays.
Then there was the rain and a brief flood.
All that was a couple of weeks ago now so what is the point of brining it up.
After the rain the verges along the roadside have started to grow again with fresh green growth.
The beaches and the sea are clean.The weather is still sunny.
Why not now talk about the possitive things now.
And before anyone says it I was there I'm still here and I don't own a business

FAIRY NUFF

Hi all

we have been in Hanioti at the moment and just wanted to let everyone know that its just fine to travel.

There is little dammage to the resort although the outside of the village looks as thouth the autumn has arrived early!!!

Everywhere is open and ready to greet you with open arms.

Also the tractors have been on the beach every night to ensure the beach is VERY CLEAN!!!

Please do not be discouraged in travelling as we were so worried as our wedding is due to take place here next week and we were bothered about the damage but PLEASE be assured you will have a fantastic time.


Take care and hope to see some ofyou off the flights that are due to arrive on Thursday!!


Vicky & Alex



I tried to download our picture but failed.......will try again soon.


ps weather 40 oc today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!